2bar Spirits - Nathan Kaiser

Nathan Kaiser - Interview Transcript

You know, when this all started to hit, we took a hard look at everything we're doing and really, what do we need to do to one, make sure the business survives this because half of our customers are gone. And my heart breaks for the on-premise, the bars and restaurants that are just all out of work and just shut their doors, right? So, the first thing we did was we started donating a portion of all bottle sales to a company called Big Table, which helps on-premise, so bartenders, restaurateurs. But, I was like, we need to do more.

So, we were not the first, by any means, to get into the hand sanitizer business, but we definitely got in. And we're doing it a little bit different than a lot of people were doing very small bottles. But for every bottle of bourbon a consumer buys, they get a free bottle of hand sanitizer or you can buy a bottle directly. And then we donate one other bottle of hand sanitizer to local EMS, fire, police, first responders, if you will. And we've given hundreds and hundreds of bottles away to Seattle P.D., Bellevue Fire, Mercer Island Police and Fire. And it's our way of just giving back to the community. It's not in a big way because we're not set up for thousands and thousands and thousands of liters of hand sanitizer, but it's what we can do and, I think, in a very manageable way. And people really have been digging it. We have people buying online now and saying don't even-- I'm not even going to pick it up, just give it to someone who needs it.

And as the vice president of the Distillers Guild, I've been working with distilleries around the state, like how do we do this in mass, what are the needs, how do we ensure that we have a distributed system, right? So, I don't want to manage everybody's business, nor do they really want me to. But, the state of Washington has ordered millions of dollars of hand sanitizer, which we're sending to local distilleries. Oregon has reached out to us. California has reached out to us. Hospitals in Massachusetts and Illinois, I mean, it's amazing. And a lot of distilleries are doing everything they can to service that need. And I think also it helps them keep the lights on, which is amazing. So, we're just happy to play our part. It's a small part and doing what we can to help. It's been amazing, right? People are giving and putting everything they have on the line to help the larger community.

I was in New York on 9/11, and I was a block away from the towers when they got hit, and I remember that city in tragedy and horrible, but that city came together in a way that was just awe-inspiring and reaffirming for humanity, in my mind. Every block I got closer to the Kennedy Center, hundreds of people joined, right? Because people were like, we are not sheep. We are not a herd. We're a pack. And people come together. I get goosebumps still thinking about it, right? So, here's this huge tragedy, 3,000 people dead, but thousands of people came together and all felt the call to go give. When we got to the donation center, they had to turn people away by the thousands because they couldn't use any more blood. They couldn't use any more volunteers. And that's what I'm seeing here but just writ large, across the entire country. And it's been amazing. And humbling.

If we work together, we're a lot stronger because we don't have the resources as well to act individually or independently of one another in many ways. So that's, I think, where people come together. And people generally are good, right? People want to help. Very few people are dicks. And everyone knows who they are. And that's fine. More power to them. Most people are just really good and just want to help, right? And say if it hurts themselves in the short-term, but they're doing the right thing for the long-term, people do it. It's why it's a pack and not a herd. People want to lead, and people look out for each other. And I'm just happy to be part of that community.